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The Secret (the secret)

3.44 of 5 stars 3.44 · rating details · 97,900 ratings · 6,017 reviews

Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it.

In this book, you'll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life -- money

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Hardcover, 184 pages

Published 2006 by Atria Books

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Feb 24, 2013 Maggie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Changed my life forever. I realize how much control I have over my life, my relationships, my happiness, my circumstances...EVERYTHING. I'm totally in charge of my life and I learned and am learning how to create what I want.

I first read it and watched the DVD 9 months ago. I've had some miracles happen in my life since then, things I've created.

For one example: I knew that in feb 2008 are funds from the sale of our last house would be used up and we would then be struggling to finish work on...more

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Rick Royster There is something faulting and fundamentally bizarre with your thinking. If Maggie said this is what changed her life, you can't dispute that. If eve...more
updated Jun 13, 2013 10:25am

Mongol There's nothing bizarre or faulty about it.

Look at what you wrote: "If Maggie said this is what changed her life, you can't dispute that".

Why not?

Here...more
Jun 14, 2013 07:26pm

Mar 25, 2013 Gabriel rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Celestine Prophecy Dropouts

Shelves: craphat

A ridiculously poorly written and assembled collection of tripe; it has no cohesive voice, no cohesive theme, and is completely facile in its subject. I literally threw the book across the room when I read, 'Quantum Physicists will tell you the universe was created from thought!'. No, numbfucker, they won't. Not to mention the 'facts' they assert don't have citations to lend those assertions the slightest hint of credibility.

If you want me to believe that 'thinking positively will lead to succes...more

102 likes · like · see review

Jul 18, 2007 Bethany rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: absolutely no one unless you are a complete moron

this website is too kind. one star means "didn't like it". I hate, hate, hate this book with absolute passion. sorry if you like oprah but she seriously did the world a disservice by recommending this book. apparently there is a dvd also that i don't even think i could stomach. so here's the concept behind "The Secret". You can attract good things to you through your good thoughts. Ok, I'm on board with that. It has worked for me. Ooh, I already knew the Secret! too bad I didn't use it to make m...more this website is too kind. one star means "didn't like it". I hate, hate, hate this book with absolute passion. sorry if you like oprah but she seriously did the world a disservice by recommending this book. apparently there is a dvd also that i don't even think i could stomach. so here's the concept behind "The Secret". You can attract good things to you through your good thoughts. Ok, I'm on board with that. It has worked for me. Ooh, I already knew the Secret! too bad I didn't use it to make millions like this chick! But no, it goes further. You attract bad things to you through your negative thoughts. Well, negative thoughts are pretty useless, so I can see benefit in trying to decrease or eliminate them. And one time (true story) I did get robbed while traveling after worrying about it for 3 weeks. BUT. There is no gray area with this one. According to the author, people who are raped, killed, maimed, tortured - they all bring it on themselves with their negative thoughts. The people in Darfur should be thinking "here comes the food, there go the guns". The book goes on to say that weight management is simply a matter of "thinking thin" and not looking at fat people (for real), that if you have a stack of bills to pay you should instead picture checks coming in, that you can have everything you want through visualization, such as your hands on the steering wheel of your car, and that you can cure your cancer watching funny movies. There is a weak chapter at the end about how you can use your Secret powers for the common good, like world peace, but why would you want to waste it when you can be driving your new Hummer? I would go so far as to say that this book is not only BAD but it is DANGEROUS. It promotes the self-absorbed, materialistic, shallow outlook of predominantly rich white people to the exclusion of the rest of the planet - while managing to blame them for their problems and justify those in possession of the Secret for not using their visualized wealth to promote social change. Aah, brilliant. genius. avoid this book. do not give money to this woman and her brilliant marketing pyramid!(less)

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Feb 19, 2013 Wendi rated it 1 of 5 stars

The reason I dislike this book so much is not because of the writing, it's the idea behind The Secret that bothers me so much. Basically The Secret is that whatever you put out into the universe is what comes to you. So if you're a positive happy go lucky person you'll get all this wonderful stuff - be it more friends or cars or more money. If you're a negative person and you put out negativity you'll only get negative things back - like continuing to be in debt, never losing weight. The book sa...more The reason I dislike this book so much is not because of the writing, it's the idea behind The Secret that bothers me so much. Basically The Secret is that whatever you put out into the universe is what comes to you. So if you're a positive happy go lucky person you'll get all this wonderful stuff - be it more friends or cars or more money. If you're a negative person and you put out negativity you'll only get negative things back - like continuing to be in debt, never losing weight. The book says that every single person on this planet is in charge of what they get. It's all about what you can get. Cars, more wealth, love, and weight loss. Better health is secondary.

What pisses me off is how flippant the contributors to the book are about this. They say that while no one deserves cancer or other illnesses (and they never actually come out and say that these people got sick because of their negativity) you could cure yourself from the illness just by being positive. 1) Based on what they have written these people DID in fact make themselves sick with these awful diseases. I don't believe that, but that's what hte authors are saying - if you're a negative person you're going to get all that negativity back. 2) I believe that positive thoughts, prayer, etc can make a person well, but I also believe that we each have a day and time that we will pass away and you can't just blatantly say, "hey, be positive and you'll be fine!"

The other thing I dont' like about the principle is that it's all about entitlement. One of the contributors actually says that the universe is a big catalog and you can go through it and pick out anything you want. So if you want a new car all you have to do is visualize that car, then convince yourself it's already yours and you'll get it.

Um...yeah. Okay. Why should you do that? Just because you can get something doesn't mean you should. We are not all entitled to have everything we could ever want. It's ridiculous to think so.

Also, I don't like the idea that the universe is just this giant Santa Claus type of thing. Another contributor says that God is the universe and that since we're all made inthe likeness of God we're all gods too and so we should be able to do anythin He does and get anything we want.

WHOA! Big WHOA!!! I do not believe I am a god. I don't believe I am godlike. I'm human. My ultimate goal is to be like Christ, but I never will be Christ.

This book is truly a commentary on our society at the moment. Everyone thinks they deserve respect (I hate listen to kids on MTV yelling at each other about how no one respects them, why should we?) and at least 15 minutes of fame. What happened to just wanting to be happy, have a bunch of friend that you love and they love you in return? To be healthy and whole? To be good to our neighbors and the people who aren't as blessed as we are? What happened to these things?

The Secret and other books and movies and TV shows like it. It's all about the individual now and this book just proves it.(less)

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Wendi The other problem I had with this bool was the idea that we can make ourselves have cancer. Our unhappiness, our negativity can kill us. Maybe, but no...more
May 09, 2011 04:04pm

Lisa Wendi wrote: "The other problem I had with this bool was the idea that we can make ourselves have cancer. Our unhappiness, our negativity can kill us....more
May 09, 2011 09:59pm

Feb 16, 2008 Toni rated it 1 of 5 stars

A friend asked me to read this book and tell her what I thought. I knew Oprah had endorsed it on her show, so of course it shot right up to number 1 best seller overnight. I was already familiar with the Law of Attraction, which in a nutshell is that Like attracts Like, so if you think negatively about your life, more than likely you will attract negative things (people, situations, energy, etc. ) to yourself; and the reverse it also true. Okay. I can buy that. I have even experienced situations...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Osman Bensasi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

لطالما أثار هذا الكتاب الجدل حوله منذ ظهوره في سنة 2007 ، ثم ترجم إلى العربية بعد ذلك فزاد الجدل المبني على سوء فهم لهذا الكتاب أو بالأحرى سوء فهم للفكرة المحورية في الكتاب وهي قانون الجذب ، كيف يعمل ومن الذي يطلق إشاراته وهل الأرض هي من تخلق الأفعال أم لا ، كل هذا وأكثر عندما تجاوز النقد سقف الهدم الكامل للفكرة بحجة أن الكتاب يدعوا إلى الكسل أو الكفر في أحيان كثيرة ، الكتاب ببساطة يقوي فيك أشياء هي موجودة وتؤمن بها بالأساس ، حيث تشير الكاتبة إلى نقطة مهمة جداً وهي التفكير الإيجابي كونه يعود علي...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Rita rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No one with a brain.

Shelves: are-you-kidding-me-worst-ever, my-reviews, self-help, 1-star

Should this book be classified as FICTION or NON-FICTION? I have no idea, but what I'm inclined to do is classfying it as DELUSIONAL.

The Law of Attraction. Whatever you send out of positive thoughts to the Universe comes back to you, ten fold at least. It's a bit like "karma" and positive thinking with a twist: You want to money comming to you? Just visualise it and it will happen. You want to be thinner? Just visualise that food has 0 calories!

Quote from the book:
Food cannot cause you to put on...more

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Feb 15, 2010 Matt Evans rated it 1 of 5 stars

(Excerpted from an online essay I wrote): To be sure, the so-called Secret represents a financially viable means to wealth, obviously so, but let's be clear: only for Rhonda Byrnes, The Secret DVD's producer and book's author.

Thus, Byrnes would have you believe that the world's wealthy, distinguished and famous—every last luminous one of them—attained their high position by dint of simple adherence to a secret law: The Law of Attraction. She shits you not. Furthermore, they (the world's rich, ce...more

41 likes · like · see review

Nov 26, 2007 Ollie rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: NOBODY!

I'm sure this book only exists thanks to The Da Vinci Code. Sensing a public interest in ancient "secrets" passed down to modern times, the publishers of this awful piece of self-help decided they could market Rhonda Byrne's book and make a killing. They were not wrong. In Brasil, it's spreading like an Old World plague: the film tie-in is always rented out in videostores, and the book is in the top 10 bestseller list. Swept up by its popularity, my mom brought a copy home.

Much like George Bush...more

40 likes · like · see review

Aug 22, 2007 Katharine Grubb Hawkinson rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those with an open mind, philosophers, physicists.

Shelves: personalgrowth

I wasn't interested in reading this book. I thought from the reviews of friends that it was pretty obvious stuff. However, I listened to the audio version. I sort of laughed at first and thought, "duh". I promised to listen to the whole book on CD, and as I listened, the connections between what the author is trying to communicate, and what many world religions try to communicate is huge. I am not a religious person. I found this book inspiring because I wasn't being told that God created the un...more

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May 12, 2008 Shannon rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-worst, reviewed

God, I am so sick of The Secret. I just can't understand why everyone is so enthralled with it. That book is at the top of every bestseller list and it's total crap. You're not going to get what you want by thinking about how much you want it. I mean, yes to positive thinking and all that, but the part they left out was that you actually have to DO something to make things happen. Jack Canfield (whose involvement should turn you off automatically) didn't really sit around staring at the ceiling...more

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Aug 10, 2007 McWriter rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

Ick. This book was just. So. Not believable. At the beginning, the author writes about the law of attraction, specifically that if you believe in something, it can happen - like, if you believe you will one day fall in love, marry, and have a family or if you believe you will succeed in education and earn your PhD, than, doggonit, you can.

It's as the book continues and the words change from "can" to "will definitely" that the author lost me. For example, if you want a certain amount of money, s...more

25 likes · like · see review

Dennis Mccarthy This book is just damnable poison. If it hurt your head the way it hurt mine, allow me to heal that hurt with two little words -- Jimmy Stewart.

Now wh...more This book is just damnable poison. If it hurt your head the way it hurt mine, allow me to heal that hurt with two little words -- Jimmy Stewart.

Now what does Jimmy Stewart have to do with The Secret? Well, it goes something like this...

The Secret tells us that all our problems are our own fault because of our negative thoughts. In other words, if I bleed to death because a random attacker stabs me in the heart, well, that's just my own negative thinking that killed me. Indeed, my negative thoughts invited the attack.

Per author Byrne, we can have any and all the white-man material crap we want so long as we shower with love all the people who have hated and humiliated and abused us; and just think happy thoughts.

But back to Jimmy. We all know Jimmy, right? Good old George Bailey. The Mr. Smith who went to Washington. He's a Hollywood icon, the 20th-century symbol of the sturdy small-town American who made, and kept, this country great.

Stewart had a career on stage and screen that spanned seven decades. He was also a genius at investment and made a pile of money in real estate. He sure must have known The Secret, right? Always thinking those gosh-darn positive thoughts and showering love on bad people and therefore making millions.

Well, good ol' Jimmy took time out from his career for a killing spree during WWII. He flew as many as 20 combat missions, including the bombing of factories in Germany. Now no one hates Nazis more than I do... but did Jimmy's bombs kill only those evil Nazis? Or did he also kill the janitor at the factory, or the women and children and babies nearby? Did The Secret give him a pass during his war career, a pass which made it okay to be a killer?

See my point? No, dear reader, "staying positive" in the 21st century is tantamount to, at best, wearing a blindfold; and at worst, ignoring the plight of your fellow humans. Nothing is gained by loving people who hurt you -- ask any abused spouse. And for God's sakes, belief is NOT a matter of will, and never has been; it's a matter of growth and understanding.

What freaking book should we expect next? "The Wand"? "Go now, out into your yard or alley, and pick up the first stick you find. Make of this your wand. Now wave this magic wand over your head and squinch your eyes shut real tight and wish for a Rolls Royce... then open your eyes! There it is! A brand new Rolls!"

Bite me, Byrne.(less)
Jan 04, 2009 05:55pm

Jul 30, 2007 Bianca rated it 2 of 5 stars

When I started reading this book, I really had no idea what it was about. Maybe I live under a rock, but I didn't know that it was on Oprah's book club list. As I read the first few pages, I felt as though the authoress was writing an infomercial... trying REALLY hard to sell me something.

The basic idea of this book is about the secret of complete happiness and to getting everything you want. Her theory condensed is that positive thinking will get you everything you want. I like the idea that b...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Fouad Taibi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

.: كتاب السر :.

كتاب نشر في عام 2007 ، للكاتبة روندا بايرن

حقق شهرة واسعة جداً في العالم بأسره ، وقد ترجم للعربية عام2008

تقول روندا بايرن :

قبل سنة ، تدهورت الحياة من حولي ، وأجهدت نفسي إلى حد الإرهاق ، توفي والدي فجأة ، وأرتبكت علاقاتي بزملائي في العمل وبمن أحبهم . القليل اللذي عرفته من يأسي العظيم أصبح هدية عظيمة.

لقد أُعطيت إشارة عن سر عظيم – سر الحياة . الإشارة أتت في كتاب عمره مئة سنة ، أعطتني إياه ابنتي هايلي . بعدها بدأت بملاحقة السر عبر التاريخ . لم أستطع أن أصدق من هم الناس اللذين عرفوه . ل...more

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Jun 03, 2007 Ryan added it

Shelves: completefuckingshit

The secret to this book is that you must be a complete and utter douchebag to find any meaning in it. The idea that the universe conspires to give you what you want if you visualize it is ridiculous and vapid.

Work hard, set goals, and plan ahead if you want to achieve something. I'm currently "visualizing" people using their fucking brains and deciding not to purchase this trash.

If you like this book, kill yourself.

35 likes · like · see review

Feb 14, 2012 Xox rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: trash-and-bullshit

B for Bullshit.

The correct title of this book, is called "daydream for lazy people".

No matter how much you "daydream" about something, the chance of getting what you want without working toward it is about zero.

Dream on morons! I just couldn't get over the fact that so many people like this book. How stupid could you be, to think that the universe care what you think. The universe doesn't really care even for your extinction.

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Feb 03, 2013 Mohamed Sabry rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

لا يستحق النجمة الواحدة حتى
،إلا لبراعة من تولوا التسويق له
والحمد لله ان هناك من تفرغ لتفنيد ما فيه من هراء ،في كتاب صغير بعنوان "خرافة السر"
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47...

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العامل الأول في طبخة "السر" هو بعض الكلام المتكرر عن التفكير الايجابي وأهمية النظرة الايجابية للحياة ،وهو كلام يعمل فعلا ويجعل الحياة أكثر احتمالاً ،وفيه شيء من الصحة وشيء من التعلق بالأماني الفارغة
المكون الثاني للطبخة هو عدد المؤلفين الضخم ،حيلة تسويقية ممتازة شبيهة بأفلام السينما التي يجتمع فيها عدد م...more لا يستحق النجمة الواحدة حتى
،إلا لبراعة من تولوا التسويق له
والحمد لله ان هناك من تفرغ لتفنيد ما فيه من هراء ،في كتاب صغير بعنوان "خرافة السر"
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47...

--------------

العامل الأول في طبخة "السر" هو بعض الكلام المتكرر عن التفكير الايجابي وأهمية النظرة الايجابية للحياة ،وهو كلام يعمل فعلا ويجعل الحياة أكثر احتمالاً ،وفيه شيء من الصحة وشيء من التعلق بالأماني الفارغة
المكون الثاني للطبخة هو عدد المؤلفين الضخم ،حيلة تسويقية ممتازة شبيهة بأفلام السينما التي يجتمع فيها عدد من النجوم لمجرد ان لكل منهم جمهوره الخاص الذي سيحب دخول الفيلم من اجله
بغض النظر عن الاحتياج الدرامي لهذا العدد من النجوم ،وبغض النظر عن مدى ركاكة الفيلم والسيناريو المفتعل والمهلهل .

المكون الثالث هو التمسح في العلم ،والذكر السطحي لنظريات أو علوم معقدة وصعبة مثل النسبية ،ومثل فيزياء الكم ،في مواضع لا علاقة لها بتلك النظريات من قريب او من بعيد.

المكون الرابع هو الاكثار من ذكر المشاهير والعباقرة وبعض الفلاسفة الميتون ،باعتبارهم أشخاص قد وجدوا "السر" وطبقوه وكتبوا عنه ،كاينيشتين واديسون والأم تيريزا وهنري فورد وغيرهم ،هو هنا يبيع لك ما يبدو انه كنزا تاريخيا قديما ،هذا اذا كنت لم تقتنع بالهراء "العلمي الحديث" الذي باعه لك سابقاً

المكون الخامس والأهم : هو نظرية "وحدة الوجود" ،وهي عقيدة هندية قديمة مُحرفة عن ديانة سماوية سابقة ، دورها هنا هو سد الثغرة الروحية لدى الجمهور المستهدف ،وهو جمهور يعيش في مجتمع تتحكم فيه المادة وقيم السرعة والكفاءة ،ويتأله فيه العقل ،ويتراجع فيه مقام الدين والروح باستمرار

فمادام الدين المسيحي في نسخته الغربية غير قادر على تقديم اجابات شمولية لأسئلة الناس وتطلعاتهم ،ومادام بين الناس وبين المسيحية حاجز ضخم من الشبهات والتاريخ السيء والتناقضات والاختلافات العقائدية ،يقدم الكتاب الحل السحري الأتي من الشرق الهندي ،بعد مزجه بالغث والثمين من تراث التنمية البشرية ،ويزين الخليط بكثير من الأسماء اللامعة التي تتقن خداع الجماهير وبيع الهواء لهم على انه الحكمة الكاملة الصافية !

العنصر الأخير : هو "الإله" ،فان كنت مؤمنا بالله او المسيح ،سيفيدك أن ترى لفظ "الإله" من حين لآخر ،فتنسب إليه المعجزات والخرافات التي يخبرك الكتاب بها ،وتنسب باقي الخرافات إلى "العقل الكوني" ،وبهذا تقتنع ببعض خرافات الكتاب على أنها "جزء" من دينك الأصلي
ورغم ان هذا تناقض رهيب ،لانه يخبرك ان تنسب المعجزات إلى الإله احيانا ،ويخبرك ان تنسبها إلى العقل الكوني أحيانا ،لكن لا مشكلة مادام ذلك سيزيد مبيعات الكتاب بين المتدينين
(less)

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Sep 10, 2009 Caleb Liu rated it 1 of 5 stars

One of the recent publishing phenomenons has been a book, printed with pages designed to look like faded vellum and enigmatically titled The Secret. In the foreward, the author promises to reveal "The Great Secret - The Secret to life" claiming that it was known to Plato, Shakespeare, Newton, Beethoven, Lincoln, Edison and Einstein (amongst others).

Far from these great thinkers, inventors and composers, the author does liberally sprinkle her novels with quotes - from a plethora of self-help guru...more One of the recent publishing phenomenons has been a book, printed with pages designed to look like faded vellum and enigmatically titled The Secret. In the foreward, the author promises to reveal "The Great Secret - The Secret to life" claiming that it was known to Plato, Shakespeare, Newton, Beethoven, Lincoln, Edison and Einstein (amongst others).

Far from these great thinkers, inventors and composers, the author does liberally sprinkle her novels with quotes - from a plethora of self-help gurus both past and present. But I get ahead of myself. I had borrowed The Secret from a friend, thinking it a work of fiction, on which point I was sorely mistaken. I begin with this disclaimer: I am not a fan of self help books. In fact, I consider the entire genre to be rather disingenuously named - after all if you truly wanted to help yourself, you would not be seeking the valued advice of all these other writers on everything from how to get yourself hitched to how to make more money.

I decided to read the book, mainly out of curiousity as to what made it so popular. However, what grated immediately was the author adopting a style of writing that I must, somewhat tongue in cheek, term the "British person overseas" style. A British person overseas, faced with a foreigner who, somewhat bafflingly, cannot speak English, has a tendency to repeat himself, usually speaking slower and louder, until comprehension is achieved. Similar, the author of The Secret works on the assumption that by repeating her key point a sufficient number of times, often with minimal variation, and quoting like-minded self help gurus, the reader will be convinced, rather than annoyed.

However, this rather simplifies my task in summarizing the ideas behind The Secret (which are anyhow contained in the handy end of chapter summaries - no point reading the rest of it, really). Basically, the Secret it founded on the Law of Attraction - we attract what we think back to ourselves. What we think about will come back to us. We get what we will. I am sure you get the point by now.

So, if we think negative things, we attract negative things to us. If we feel bad, we attract bad things. So how do we use the law of attraction? We only have to ask, believe and then we will receive. To believe, you must think as if you already have received what you are asking for. Do so and you will receive it. So, if you want to "lose weight" don't think about having to lose 20kg. Instead, just tell yourself "I am 52kg" (even if you are really 72kg). Once you feel that you are your perfect weight you will become it. Visualising what you want, and feeling a constant gratitude for what you already have will speed up the process, apparently.

The author then helpfully outlines how you can apply the Secret to Money, Relationships, Health and the World. Stop now, and read through the summary above and try for yourself how to apply this to any of the above categories. Let me use money as an example. Wait a minute, you might say, so growing rich just involves focusing on wealth (remember: you should never focus on bills or debt as you will just attract more of that negative stuff), imagining that you already have the money that you want, visualising the money (or any idea that you have that will make you all that moolah), and of course giving money away and feeling gratitude and generosity in doing so, as it will catalyze the process. Isn't that all a bit easy? But of course, that is the point! The Secret is amazingly simple and easy!

In fact, you can join the many people who have already utilised the Secret to find wealth, happiness in relationships and good health. It really is that easy! The author liberally cites examples ranging from a person visualising herself owning a copy of a DVD copy of The Secret (and then winning it in a special online contest) to the members of Belize Natural Exploration Limited who used the method in combination with a determination to find oil and natural gas (against the advice of trained geologists) and struck it rich. The Secret is after all quite versatile since the law of attraction permeates everything. You can use The Secret to attain everything from a dream house, a perfect life partner or a parking space.

Given the obvious cynicism I have employed in writing about the book thus far, you would think that I found it a complete waste of time. That isn't necessarily the case. Beyond proving, once again, that It does suggest that there is merit in thinking positively, rather than negatively. In fact, thinking positively might just change your life. That is a self-help staple and a piece of age old wisdom that you don't need to spend another $30 to learn. As Bobby McFerrin sang, "Don't Worry, Be Happy".(less)

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Jul 31, 2007 Marnie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Call me jaded, but these people have been drinking the kool aid. Don’t get me wrong- I embrace and appreciate the power of positive thinking and believe that an optimistic frame of mind can go a long way. But, The Secret is a bit extreme. The core of The Secret is the law of attraction, which basically says you attract what you think- think it and it will come. It says that you simply need to ask, believe, and receive whatever you want from the catalog of the universe. One part says, “It is as e...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Paul 'Pezski' Perry rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: nobody

Shelves: rubbish-bin

This book is so inspirational! It turns out that by just believing and wanting really hard you can get whatever you want out of life! And if that doesn't work you can write a vacuous self help book full of profound sounding but utterly meaningless tripe and there are enough stupid people in the world to make you rich! This book has also taught me that I don't need to care about other people; if they don't get what they want it isn't anything to with me or anything to do with society being fair o...more This book is so inspirational! It turns out that by just believing and wanting really hard you can get whatever you want out of life! And if that doesn't work you can write a vacuous self help book full of profound sounding but utterly meaningless tripe and there are enough stupid people in the world to make you rich! This book has also taught me that I don't need to care about other people; if they don't get what they want it isn't anything to with me or anything to do with society being fair or equal, it's because they didn't wish hard enough or learn to visualise what they want! I used to give a lot of money to various charities – cancer research, rape support groups, third world aid – but I've stopped that now because I realise that the problems people have are because they secretly, deep down, wish them upon themselves, and only they can make their lives better! It's sad if a child dies of leukaemia or lots of people are killed by a tsunami or a train crash but something in them brought it on themselves, and anyway they'll get another chance in the great circle of life and they should try harder next time. And by 'try harder', I don't mean actually work to achieve anything but just wish really hard, because it turns out that all sorts of brilliant people like Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Mozart, Beethoven, Plato and John D Rockefeller were successful not because they worked hard or were particularly smart or talented but JUST BECAUSE THEY KNEW THE SECRET!!!!!

NOTE: Just in case there is anyone who is especially slow on the uptake, this is sarcasm. I'm not that shocked that this book exists but that it has apparently sold somewhere in the region of 21 million copies really does make me worry for humanity. Does the author (and her contributors, the most qualified of whom are described as “a doctor of Chiropractic” and another “an internationally known feng-shui mistress”) actually believe this bollocks, or are just using it to milk the stupid. And if you believe in this book there's no sugaring the pill; you are a moron. A shallow, self centred, vacuous moron. I would happily spit in the face of Ms Byrne, any of her contributors or people who worked on the DVD. Yes, there is a lot to be said for the power of positive thought – because it can change your own attitude and behaviour! There's a whole field of psychology based on that idea called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. There is nothing mystical about it. You know the old saying, "the universe doesn't owe you a living"?

Some of my favourite quotes:

“Nothing can come into your experience unless you summon it thought persistent thoughts.” Damn, those Jews were pretty careless before WW2, weren't they?

“Quantum Physicists will tell you the universe was created from thought!” Really? Truly? Okay, NAME ONE. Seriously, just one published quantum physicist who is taken seriously by the scientific community.

“Our feelings let us know what we’re thinking.” What? What does that actually mean?

And the best, from Ester Hicks, conduit for a spirit called Abraham (seriously):
“...I used to be extremely disturbed when a person's rights were violated by violence on a person, or by someone forcefully taking someone else's property....But then, after meeting you [Abraham:], I got to the point that I see all those things they're doing with others as "games" that they're playing—more or less "agreements" that they have between one another, spoken or unspoken. I've gotten somewhat better at not feeling their pain. But can I get to the point that I don’t feel anything negative when I see someone violating the rights of another? Can I just look at whatever they're doing to one another out there, and think, You're all doing to one another what you have somehow chosen to do? “(less)

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Feb 05, 2009 Varmint rated it 1 of 5 stars

went to dinner with the boss lady the other night. she went on and on about this wonderful book. it was truly life changing. and she was already seeing the positive results of applying principles from it in her business and personal life.

she wasn't able to really articulate any ot those principles, so she just gave me a copy. went through it the next day.

holy crap. my employer, the person that i am financially dependent on, is a fruitloop. am updating my resume now.

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Apr 05, 2013 Nenia Campbell marked it as this-cup-of-tea-is-not-for-me

I had the dubious opportunity to watch the video adaption of this book recently; it was absolutely terrible, but I watched enough to get the gist of what this book is about. The Secret (which isn't a secret anymore, I guess, now that she told everybody) is the idea that your thoughts dictate the kinds of things that happen to you in your life. Thinking bad thoughts makes bad things happen to you and thinking good thoughts makes good things happen to you. Thinking about being rich will make you r...more I had the dubious opportunity to watch the video adaption of this book recently; it was absolutely terrible, but I watched enough to get the gist of what this book is about. The Secret (which isn't a secret anymore, I guess, now that she told everybody) is the idea that your thoughts dictate the kinds of things that happen to you in your life. Thinking bad thoughts makes bad things happen to you and thinking good thoughts makes good things happen to you. Thinking about being rich will make you rich, and you should affirm this by writing yourself blank checks for vast sums of money ("the checks just poured in!" says Man Who Was Paid to Be Here #1), and taping $100 bills to the roof of your house(!) as some kind of bizarre money-attracting shrine.

Now, this idea isn't completely without merit. Generally, the way you approach life shapes what kinds of things you notice. Happier people tend to remember and notice happier things, whereas depressed people are locked into a savage cycle of depressive thinking. This is known as the state-dependent effect in psychology. If you think positively, I imagine that you are more likely to notice opportunity when it comes a-knocking, and if you are positive, people are more likely to want to be around you and help you out. This isn't magic, it's taking the initiative to help others help you. Putting your fingers into the sign of the cross and saying, "Get thee hence obesity/rape/poverty!" is not going to make these bad things disappear by sweeping them under a mental carpet.

The video was absolutely awful. The cover of the book was in the background and this weird new-age music was playing throughout the whole thing. Every so often there would be pictures of nature. How she managed to get doctors and professors on her movie, I do not know. It did amuse me, however, that they all seemed to have British accents. As if this in and of itself were a sign of credibility. I went from dry amusement to annoyance very quickly. It was just so clearly reconstituted bullshit that I couldn't sit through the whole thing.

And this is the crux of what is wrong with the video: it encourages laziness. It says, "I don't have to try. I can just wish it to happen!" Well, um, no, actually you can't. Even God doesn't just dole out miracles to people who pray for 'em: He helps people who help themselves, and sometimes helping themselves renders His help unnecessary. The premise of this entire idea is redolent with American laziness and self-entitlement; the idea that we deserve more for doing less. Bull-shit. Moreover, it also encourages indifference and discrimination. Not only should we avoid people in dire straits, but we should also blame them for not thinking hard enough about making good things come into their lives. Rape victim? Didn't think don't rape me enough. Poor man on the street? Didn't tape enough money to his cardboard box. Fat lady? Doesn't think 'I want to be skinny' enough.

It's a disgusting idea. And ask yourself this: if this really worked, then:

(1) Why on earth would she share it with the rest of the world? And why wouldn't she demand a cut from all this fabulous money about to roll in?

and

(2) Why isn't she living in a castle by the beach made of money, with a harem of hot male (or female) models, eating whatever she wants and never gaining a pound or worrying about health issues?

It begs the question.(less)

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Apr 04, 2008 Mahsa rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: به همه كساني كه آرزوهاي بزرگي دارند

Recommended to Mahsa by: بينا هوشمند

من اعتقاد ندارم كه تمام مشكلات ما با انديشه و انرژي مثبت قابل حل است و كتابهايي از اين دست را خرافه آميز مي دانم چيزي شبيه باورهاي ديني مختلف كه هيچ مدركي براي اثباتشان نيست من معتقدم هر كسي بايد در مواردي كه كاري از دستش بر مي آيد در جهان واقعي تلاش كند و در مرحله اي كه ديگر كاري از دستش بر نمي آيد اميدوار باشد و انرژي مثبت بفرستد . به نظر من صرفا" انرژي مثبت فرستادن و به اميد آن ماندن و دست روي دست گذاشتن فقط اتلاف وقت است . با اين حال در اين كتاب حقيقتي هست كه حتي من هم به آن معتقدم و آن اين...more

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May 15, 2007 Angela rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Nobody

I had to create a new bookshelf called "Hated" just cuz I didn't know how else to categorize this waste of space! They basically used the simple idea of the Law of Attraction and extended it to an entire book. WHAT A WASTE OF GOOD PAPER. They basically said that positive energy attracts positive energy and negative energy attracts negative energy (like attracts like). SO, if you change your way of thinking you will change your luck in life. They make that bold statement but they don't tell you h...more

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Jan 22, 2008 Joyce rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No One with any brain cells that are still alive

Recommended to Joyce by: A bunch of idiots

Shelves: holy-cow-this-was-published

In a weak moment I succumbed! It was on sale and I too wanted to know "the secret" Now I know-I just think about checks every day and voila-my mailman will bring them to me! C'mon people, positive thinking has been written about in dozens if not hundreds of books and they were much better written than this drivel!

Honestly, the idea that children with cancer bring it upon themselves because they did not envision themselves as healthy or that people who experience earthquakes, famine and flood br...more

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Feb 02, 2009 Randy rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 30, 2012 W-hh Hassan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

فكرة الكتاب بسيطة جدا وقد قال النبي صلي الله عليه وسلم (أنا عند حسن ظن عبدى بى فليظن بى ماشاء إن خير
فخير وإن شر فشر

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Dec 03, 2009 Wirotomo Nofamilyname rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: motivational speaker who talk the same rubbish

Recommended to Wirotomo by: you-know-who

Shelves: personal-growth, indonesian, i-got-it-as-a-gift-but-swap-it

R-U-B-B-I-S-H !!!!!!!

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Nov 02, 2012 Hs_hajar added it · review of another edition

أنصح بمشاهدة الفلم ثم قراءة الكتاب
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yK69gjJv-6o

*حياتنا هي افكارنا ماتشعر به تعيشه.
*الأفكار الايجابية اكثر قوة وتأثيرا من الافكار السلبية.
*حينما تشعر بالإحباط فكر بشيء جميل لاعب اطفالا، غني، اركض.

*يوجد عملية إبداعية مكونة من 3 خطوات:
1-ان تطلب، أبلغ الكون بما يدور ببالك وبما تريد وسيستجيب الكون لأفكارك.
(ماالذي تريد حقا اجلس ودون ذلك في ورقة ثم فصل كيف تريد ان تغدو حياتك في جميع المجالات)
2-ان تؤمن، امن بأن ماتطلب هو ملكك الان، فليكن لديك بما يسمى الايمان الراسخ،اعرف كي...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Shuaib Abu Shuaib rated it 2 of 5 stars

بصراحة ما دفعني لقراءة هذا الكتاب والبحث فيه هو حجم الترويج والحديث الكثير عنه، وحجم الجدل الذي دار حوله سواء في عالمنا العربي او في العالم الغربي نفسه.

قمت بقراءة النسخة العربية منه واطلعت على النسخة الانكليزية ووجدت أن فيه بعض الاشياء الجميلة والايجابية التي تدعوا للتفاؤل في الحياة، لكن فيه منطق وأفكار غريبة وخطيرة تتنافى مع سنة الكون والفطرة التي خلقنا الله عليها.

تتلخص فكرة الكتاب في الآتي:

- أن هناك شيئاً اسمه قانون الجذب، بمعنى أنك إذا أردت الحصول على شيء ما فما عليك سوى التفكير فيه، واترك ال...more بصراحة ما دفعني لقراءة هذا الكتاب والبحث فيه هو حجم الترويج والحديث الكثير عنه، وحجم الجدل الذي دار حوله سواء في عالمنا العربي او في العالم الغربي نفسه.

قمت بقراءة النسخة العربية منه واطلعت على النسخة الانكليزية ووجدت أن فيه بعض الاشياء الجميلة والايجابية التي تدعوا للتفاؤل في الحياة، لكن فيه منطق وأفكار غريبة وخطيرة تتنافى مع سنة الكون والفطرة التي خلقنا الله عليها.

تتلخص فكرة الكتاب في الآتي:

- أن هناك شيئاً اسمه قانون الجذب، بمعنى أنك إذا أردت الحصول على شيء ما فما عليك سوى التفكير فيه، واترك الباقي على "الكون" - كما في النسخة الانكليزية - أو على "الخالق" - كما في النسخة العربية - ليقوم بتلبيته لك.

- ترسيخ مبدأ التواكل في حياة الإنسان من منطلق انك اذا اردت شيئا في الكون فما عليك سوى التفكير فيه فقط ولست بحاجة لمضاعفة عملك، او ايجاد خطة للوصول اليه.

- فكرة أن الشبيه يأتي بشبيهه سواء من خير أو شر وأن كل ما يقع لنا هو نتيجة لأفكارنا، فمثلاً الاعاصير والزلازل التي تأتينا وتقوم بتدمير المدن تأتي نتيجة لأفكارنا السلبية "منطق غريب جداً"

- ترسيخ مفهوم الأنانية، من منطلق أن لا تفكر سوى بنفسك، وأن مبدأ التضحية مبدأ فاسد

- هناك فرق وتحريف واضح بين النسختين الانكليزية والعربية، بمعنى أن الترجمة العربية فيها نوع من الأسلمة، لأن الكتاب الاصلي فيه الكثير من الإلحاد والأفكار التي لا يستطيع الشخص المسلم تقبلها، وباعتقادي أن هناك عدم أمانة في الترجمة للعربية.

ربما يخرج أحدهم ويقول ان فكرة الكتاب بسيطة وتأتي تجسيدا لحديث النبي "تفاءلوا بالخير تجدوه"، وهذا برأيي غير صحيح لأن النية مقترنة بالعمل في الحياة، وكما قيل "ليس الإيمان بالتحلي ولا بالتمني، ولكنه ما وقر في القلب وصدقه العمل"

أو كما قال شوقي:

وما نيل المطالب بالتمني * * * ولكن تؤخذ الدنيا غلابا(less)

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About Rhonda Byrne

Rhonda Byrne is an Australian television writer and producer, best known for her New Thought works, The Secret—a book and a film by the same name. By the Spring of 2007 the book had sold almost 4 million copies, and the DVD had sold more than 2 million copies. She has also been a producer for Sensing Murder. According to an article published by Australia's Herald Sun, Byrne has also worked on the...more

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Quotes from The Secret

“Be grateful for what you have now. As you begin to think about all the things in your life you are grateful for, you will be amazed at the never ending thoughts that come back to you of more things to be grateful for. You have to make a start, and then the law of attraction will receive those grateful thoughts and give you more just like them.” — 291 people liked it

“There is no such thing as a hopeless situation. Every single circumstances of your life can change! ” — 226 people liked it

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